Elpidia Giovanna Fregni
After a career as an independent jeweller I returned to academic studies to pursue a degree in archaeology. During my undergraduate work, I had the opportunity to work with an assemblage of Bronze Age axes at the University of Minnesota. My colleague, Joseph Zarr, and I catalogued the collection and authored a report supported by a UROP grant. I was hooked immediately on archaeometallurgy and soon found that my skills as a metalworker gave me a unique perspective and a knowledge that would be an asset.
While working with the university’s collection, I developed an interest in corrosion processes and deterioration of metals. I was awarded a second grant to study museum conservation at the Science Museum of Minnesota where I worked under Gretchen Anderson and Dr Ed Fleming. In addition I worked with the museum’s collection of Native American copper, and authored a paper on A Study of the Manufacture of Copper Spearheads in the Old Copper Complex that was published in the 2009 issue of The Minnesota Archaeologist. The study gave me the opportunity to work with 3D scanning and imaging equipment that allowed me to take accurate measurements of native copper spearheads and examine wear in fine detail.
For my postgraduate career, I relocated to Britain and completed an MSc in archaeomaterials with a dissertation on the Iron Age metalworking assemblage of the Meare Villages in Somerset. The analysis for the dissertation involved operating a portable XRF, and using it to analyse metal, slag, and ceramic materials. In addition, I did experimental work on the effects of recycling bronze. The experimental work was done using an outdoor furnace with charcoal, bellows, and handmade crucibles in order to recreate conditions as closely as possible to technology that would have been available in the Bronze Age. The results were presented at the 2009 Historical Metallurgy Society Research in Progress Conference.
My interest in metalworking tools formed the basis of my PhD thesis, The Compleat Metalsmith: Craft and Technology in the British Bronze Age. My research took me from Inverness to the Isle of Wight, travelling to museums to examine metalworking tools in museum collections. By the time I was done, I had developed a typology for British Bronze Age hammers, developed a schematic for identifying wear on tools in order to match them to metalworking tasks, and created a system (Minimum Tools Required) for understanding the complex processes of metalworking. The experimental component of my thesis called on my previous experience in metalworking. I cast replicas of the Bronze Age socketed hammers that I examined in museums and used them for various tasks in order to understand how they would perform, and to compare the wear I saw on hammers in museum collections.
Now that the thesis is done and I’ve been awarded my PhD, I am currently seeking employment. I continue to speak at conferences and write about craft and Bronze Age metalworking. Currently I am expanding on the work I did using XRF and its use in understanding Bronze Age casting technology, this is in addition to articles about the spatial analysis from my thesis, and an article about wear analysis. I recently began a website, Ancient Tools and Craft ancienttools.net dedicated to experimental archaeology. I also continue to use my jewellery making skills to replicate ancient brooches. I regularly demonstrate how they are made using Bronze Age casting techniques at workshops throughout Britain and Ireland. In 2014 I worked with the people at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield to produce a film about casting Roman brooches for their Traces of Empire exhibit (the link to the film is available on my academia.edu page).
It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to meeting more people who have interests in Bronze Age metalworking and understanding ancient craft through experimental archaeology.
While working with the university’s collection, I developed an interest in corrosion processes and deterioration of metals. I was awarded a second grant to study museum conservation at the Science Museum of Minnesota where I worked under Gretchen Anderson and Dr Ed Fleming. In addition I worked with the museum’s collection of Native American copper, and authored a paper on A Study of the Manufacture of Copper Spearheads in the Old Copper Complex that was published in the 2009 issue of The Minnesota Archaeologist. The study gave me the opportunity to work with 3D scanning and imaging equipment that allowed me to take accurate measurements of native copper spearheads and examine wear in fine detail.
For my postgraduate career, I relocated to Britain and completed an MSc in archaeomaterials with a dissertation on the Iron Age metalworking assemblage of the Meare Villages in Somerset. The analysis for the dissertation involved operating a portable XRF, and using it to analyse metal, slag, and ceramic materials. In addition, I did experimental work on the effects of recycling bronze. The experimental work was done using an outdoor furnace with charcoal, bellows, and handmade crucibles in order to recreate conditions as closely as possible to technology that would have been available in the Bronze Age. The results were presented at the 2009 Historical Metallurgy Society Research in Progress Conference.
My interest in metalworking tools formed the basis of my PhD thesis, The Compleat Metalsmith: Craft and Technology in the British Bronze Age. My research took me from Inverness to the Isle of Wight, travelling to museums to examine metalworking tools in museum collections. By the time I was done, I had developed a typology for British Bronze Age hammers, developed a schematic for identifying wear on tools in order to match them to metalworking tasks, and created a system (Minimum Tools Required) for understanding the complex processes of metalworking. The experimental component of my thesis called on my previous experience in metalworking. I cast replicas of the Bronze Age socketed hammers that I examined in museums and used them for various tasks in order to understand how they would perform, and to compare the wear I saw on hammers in museum collections.
Now that the thesis is done and I’ve been awarded my PhD, I am currently seeking employment. I continue to speak at conferences and write about craft and Bronze Age metalworking. Currently I am expanding on the work I did using XRF and its use in understanding Bronze Age casting technology, this is in addition to articles about the spatial analysis from my thesis, and an article about wear analysis. I recently began a website, Ancient Tools and Craft ancienttools.net dedicated to experimental archaeology. I also continue to use my jewellery making skills to replicate ancient brooches. I regularly demonstrate how they are made using Bronze Age casting techniques at workshops throughout Britain and Ireland. In 2014 I worked with the people at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield to produce a film about casting Roman brooches for their Traces of Empire exhibit (the link to the film is available on my academia.edu page).
It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to meeting more people who have interests in Bronze Age metalworking and understanding ancient craft through experimental archaeology.
less
InterestsView All (13)
Uploads
Papers by Elpidia Giovanna Fregni
The Wickford hoard is a collection of 6 ingots housed in the collection of the Southend Museum.
The Leigh II hoard was found on 29th Jan 1926 four feet below the surface on undisturbed gravel near the Prittle Brook, Leigh-on-Sea. Later excavations did not reveal evidence of a nearby settlement (Turner 1998a, 67).
The hoard consists of 224 objects and is typical of large Essex hoards, although it is unusual in that it does contain some exotic objects. The hoard contains 30 socketed axes (both whole and fragmented), fragments of winged axes, gouges, sickles, socketed knives, hammers, swords, spearheads, ornaments, cauldrons, casting debris, and ingots. Time constraints prevented examination of the entire hoard, and so the two hammers (276/55 and 276/56), a lump of cast metal (276/120), a gouge with a fragment of a decorated bracelet inserted into the socket (276/107) were chosen, in addition to 15 ingot fragments selected at random.
The hoard was found at Great Wasketts Farm near Wickford, Essex by a metal detectorist. The owner had it in his possession for an undisclosed time before selling it at auction. The Southend Museum acquired the hoard in October 2003 (Crowe 2003).
The hoard consists of 14 south eastern type socketed axes, including 2 decorated with wings, 2 decorated with ribs, 7 plain, and 3 undetermined axe fragments. The hoard also included a tanged chisel, a ferrule, sockets of 2 gouges, a Thorndon type knife fragment, and 10 fragments of copper ingot (Crowe 2003). In addition, two modern pieces (a disc with central hole and collar, and a stud or rivet head) of modern metal were inadvertently included as part of the hoard by the finder.
The examination of the hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.
The Wakering hoard was found by a metal detectorist in January of 1994 and was acquired by the museum in June 1994. The hoard was found on river brickearth and possibly deposited in a shallow, flat-bottomed pit. The hoard was arranged with socketed axes on the bottom that were completely covered by ingot fragments. Smaller metal objects were wedged into the sockets of larger tools, although these were all removed by the finder before presenting to the museum (Crowe 2003, 7).
The hoard consists of 9 axes, both whole and fragmented, 3 sword fragments, 2 spear tips, a bugle shaped object, a tanged tool, 2 possible knife blades, a bracelet fragment, a socket fragment, 2 pieces of bronze plate, 7 pieces of copper alloy sheet, and 6 ingot fragments.
The majority of the axes are of the south eastern type, with others having various rib decorations, and one Stogursey type axe.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.
The Vange hoard was discovered in 1953 in a drainage trench on the grounds of Swan Mead Infant & Junior school. The hoards dates from the Ewert Park Phase (800-700 BC) based upon fragments of Ewert Park swords and South-eastern type socketed axes. The hoard is large, containing 174 individual elements, with many small fragmented pieces.
The hoard was cleaned and all traces of corrosion and residue were removed. As a result the evidence of pitting cause by corrosion is dramatically displayed, but the severity of the cleaning left little evidence of wear on the tools.
A detailed description of the hoard was published by Turner in 1998. For her work, the author assigned accession numbers different than those given on the objects. Turner’s numbers are given in parentheses after the museum accession numbers. This report will not include details of the numerous metal fragments in the hoard, but will concentrate on the larger objects and specifically those objects pertaining to metalworking.
The examination of the hoard was undertaken as part of a PhD project in association with the University of Sheffield, which includes a study of British Bronze Age metalsmithing tools.
The Inschoch Wood Hoard consists of a small anvil, a hammer, and a spear fragment cast from a copper alloy.
The hoard was found by a Canadian soldier at the edge of Inshoch Wood, near Woodend, between Auldearn and Brodie Stations (NH9465774). There are possible mounds in the vicinity.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.
The Froxfield Barrow Hoard was excavated in 1890 by J. Silvester from a barrow near Crab Tree Farm. The hoard consists of a knife, a chisel, and two stones. The stones are listed in the museum as whetstones, although the English Heritage PastScape web page identifies them as arrow straighteners. The barrow included a cremation that was dated to the Middle Bronze Age.The hoard was given to museum in 1923. Published in Proc. Hampshire Field Club Archaeological Society in 1925
The Roseberry Topping Hoard is a Late Bronze Age founders’ hoard that consists of two valves of a bronze mould for a socketed axe (J93.514), two socketed axes (J93.515 and J93.516), a fragment of an axe (J93.517), a hammer (J93.518), a chisel (J93.519), two gouges (J93.520 and J93.521), and a sickle (J93.522). According to John Walker Ord in The History and Antiquities of Cleveland, the hoard was originally supposed to have also included a whetstone 7 or 8 inches long “looking the worse for wear”, sheet metal: a “brass plate 8 inches square, about the thickness of a shilling”. The plate was said to have been much corroded, and “appeared to have writing, but unfortunately crumbled to dust on exposure to the air”, “a “large piece of pure copper weighing from 5 to 6 lbs., which appeared as if poured from a crucible” ( 2.5 kg), and a 3 inch square piece of jet.
According to Ord, some wood remained in the socket of the chisel, but that it disintegrated quickly.
The hammer from the Taunton Workhouse hoard was found in February 1877 by a crew working on the grounds of the Taunton Union Workhouse. The hoard consists of 11 palstaves, a hammer, a spearhead, an axe, a razor, 2 sickles, 2 torcs, 4 pins, 4 rings and 20 fragments from five rings.
The Donhead St. Mary Hoard is a Late Bronze Age founders’ hoard that consists of two halves of a bronze mould for socketed axes, 3 socketed axes, 8 winged axes, 3 fragments of copper ingots, a socketed hammer, a socketed gouge, a bronze ring, and bundles of wire.
The hoard was initially discovered 1 May 1896 by a labourer digging for chert near Shaftsbury, Wiltshire. The hoard was found 17 inches (43 cm) below the surface. The hoard was subsequently purchased by General Pitt Rivers who returned to the site and found more of the bronze wire. The collection was housed at the Farnham Museum in Dorset and later acquired by the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, as part of the Pitt Rivers Collection (Passmore 1931).
The Kilnhurst Hoard was found sometime between 1909 and 1918 eight miles northeast of Sheffield, in the marshy valley of the middle Don River in South Yorkshire. The original owner, Canon William Greenwell, never recorded exactly when or where he found the hoard. After he passed away, the hoard was purchased by Mr Louis Clarke and donated to the British Museum. The hoard is currently the in Clifton Park Museum in Rotherham, although it is still the property of the British Museum.
The hoard consists of two socketed hammers, a socketed chisel, a palstave, and two spearheads.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.
On Wednesday 17th March 2004 a hoard of 56 metal artefacts was found by metal detectorist, Mr. George Jane 30-40 cm below the ground surface on grassland near a henge within a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure. The objects had been scattered in an area approximately 10m x 8m, with one axe recovered from outside this area (Worrell 2005, 1).
The hoard consists of seven complete, and 17 incomplete socketed axes, two socketed knives, a tanged knife, three sword fragments, a tanged spearhead and four spearhead fragments, two casting jets, a complete ingot, and nine ingot fragments, a socketed hammer, a mortising chisel, a bucket baseplate and fragments of sheet metal (Worrell 2005b).
The report gives detailed typological information that identifies the objects as dating from the Ewart Park phase of the Late Bronze Age (1000-800 BC), noting their similarity to objects found in hoards in Southeast Britain.
The study included metric recording, photography, visual description, and chemical analysis using a NITON XL3T portable XRF.
The hoard was found in 2002 by two people hunting for fossils. The hoard had weathered out of the side of a cliff near Sandown. After the first object was spotted, the pair returned with a metal detector to see if they could locate more objects. Some of the pieces appeared to have organic material adhered to them that had been mineralised in the corrosion. The hoard appeared to have originally been deposited higher on the cliff, but had fallen due to erosion. The hoard consists of six axes, two gouges, two knives, and a hammer.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.
The hoard was found about 500 metres from the West Kennet Long Barrow in 1986 and was subsequently bought by the museum.
The hoard consists of a socketed hammer (DZSWS 1987.45.1), a graver (DZSWS 1987.45.2) and a socketed gouge (CZSWS 1987.45.3).
According to the English Heritage Pastscape web page, the objects were not found as a discreet hoard. The hammer and graver were supposedly found together with six (now lost) axes in the Hanging Langford area. The gouge may have come from the area around Cold Kitchen Hill.
The study included metric recording, photography, and visual description.
Two pieces of decorative pieces from horse harnesses dating from the Roman Period, and five objects from a hoard were analysed. The objects had been recovered by detectorists and were at the museum for assessment.
The Goldhanger hoard is a collection of 61 ingots housed in the collection of the Colchester Museum. The hoard was discovered by Keith R. Pennick while metal detecting in a field near the Blackwater Estuary in October 2000.
At the time of analysis, the hoard was in the process of being acquired by the museum, and so was limited to non-destructive analysis. At the time of examination the ingots had been lightly cleaned, but not conserved.
The study included metric recording, photography, visual description, and analysis of chemical composition using a portable XRF.
The hoard consists of 65 fragments of copper and copper alloy ingots held at the Colchester Museum. The hoard was discovered in February 2000 by D. Martin while metal detecting in Langford parish. At the time of examination the ingots had been lightly cleaned, but not conserved.
The Hatfield Broad Oak Hoard was found in May 1893. The hoard had been deposited in a pot and interred beside a brook at Matching Barnes, Hatfield Broad Oak. The hoard consists of over 60 objects, including socketed axes, spearheads, fragments of a bronze vessel, ingots, and a hammer. The hoard was presented to the Colchester Museum by Lord Rookwood.